Mino Raiola denies Manchester United have agreed deal with Juventus for Paul Pogba

Reports in Italy had suggested that the transfer could be announced as soon as Friday evening.

The Paul-Pogba-to-Manchester-United saga looks set to rumble on unabated for at least a few more days after agent Mino Raiola strongly denied that an agreement with Juventus had finally been reached. Such an episode has simply dominated the back pages and social media so far this summer, with the fluctuating status of negotiations seeming to differ almost entirely depending on the specific day and publication.

After more than one false dawn, United supporters were most recently offered hope that the finishing line was in sight courtesy of La Stampa.

The Turin-based daily newspaper claimed that a world-record €110m (£92.6m, $122.9m) deal could be announced as soon as Friday evening (29 July), with a five-year contract in the offing and Pogba, currently on holiday in the United States after his exertions at Euro 2016, said to be undergoing a medical in Los Angeles.

That report has since been backed up elsewhere and has understandably generated a lot of excitement, although Raiola's latest scolding Twitter post suggests that the wait is likely to last for a little while longer yet.

"Journalist = parrots," he said. "No deal done between clubs. It's a game between Italy press and UK press who announce it first and who is worse."

Raiola is not a prolific user of social media, but did venture on to the Twittersphere last week to express similar frustrations with premature suggestions that Pogba's exit from Serie A had been sealed.

Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri, who recently secured the services of prolific Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain in a €90m switch that ranked as the third most expensive in history, was questioned regarding Pogba's future following a 2-1 International Champions Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Australia on Tuesday.

Addressing his exorbitant price tag, he laughed before adding: "That's what it is, I don't assign prices to players. Each player has a value – some low, some high."